Battle of Kelowna
The Battle of Kelowna was a major early engagement and battle of the Cascadian Campaign which saw soldiers of the Cascadian Defense Forces defend the city of Kelowna in southern Cascadia from the advancing hordes of Caesar's Legion who attempted to capture the town. Despite early success, the Legion forces were quickly bogged down by Cascadian artillery and air forces and by November 28th of 2283, the Legion forces pulled out and surrendered leaving the city well within Cascadian hands. Background During the winter of 2283, the Army of the North, a powerful sub-faction and army of Caesar's Legion, was caught in a war with the New California Republic during the NCR Northern Offensive in which the NCR invaded Legion territorial holdings in Oregon and Washington States. Despite their training and resources being far better than the rest of the Legion, the Northern Army was still outmatched by the superior forces of the New California Republic Defense Force and was being pushed back. By November, the army's leader, Aurelio of the North, reluctantly approaved of an expedition into the southern portions of former Canada to establish a safehaven for the Legion forces. This lead them to encounter the Republic of Cascadia and soon, its southern towns and cities were being invaded and occupied by Legion forces. By the time Kelowna was within their sights, Cascadian Forces stationed there were tasked with defending it and pushing the Legion forces back. Initial Legion Attack The battle began when the Legion forces under the command of an unknown Centurion commanded a force of 1,200 men and launched a full blown assault on the city of Kelowna via the front. The assault took the 480 strong Cascadiand defenders by surprise and they were soon overrun and forced to retreat deep into the city. Makeshift baracdes were set up by repositioning civilian cars and were used to fight off the ensuing Legion attackers. On the first day of the battle, 12 Cascadian soldiers were killed while 48-56 Legionnaires were killed. The Legion forces managed to capture much of Kelowna, but only the southern parts leaving the rest of the city in Cascadian hands. Cascadian troops managed to hold the line and a stalemate had soon set in. After a Hawker-class Light Bomber (converted Hawker 1000 jet) conducted a bombing run, the Legion forces pulled back and Kelowna was split in two. Cascadian Reinforcements After news of the battle broke out, the Southern Sector of the Cascadian Army sent a the Second Armored Division with 20 tanks to reinforce the troops at Kelowna. The Legion had tanks as well, but they were far more primitive than their Cascadian counterparts and most of them were makeshift tanks made from trucks and other vehicles with cannons attatched to them with many resembling armored cars, but with a tank cannon on the top or in the middle. While Most of the Cascadian tanks were either post-war models made from surviving pre-war tanks and revived antiquated tanks such as M4 Shermans and Matildas, they far surpassed the Legion's armor in comparrison and at least two M56 Main Battle Tanks were present during the battle. The division was supported by the Fourth Air Regiment which sent four light bombers (converted large civilian jets) to conduct bombing runs on Legion positions and prevent their troops inside of Kelowna from being reinforced. From November 26th - 27th, the Cascadian Air Force conducted numerous bombing runs around the city of Kelowna on the outskirts and urban areas of the occupied southern portions. The goal was to limit damage and since most of the Legion forces were attempting to encircle the Cascadian troops, the bombing runs managed to have only limited damage on Kelowna as a whole. The Seventh Artillery Company was sent to Kelowna during the battle where they stationed artillery batteries in the outskirt cliffs of the city and fired on Legion positions and used the terrain to establish an "artillery encirclment" around the Legion troops and harassed them constantly. After one Cascadian bomber was damaged by a Legion gun crew, it was bombarded and destroyed before it could shot it down. The Legion possessed only four artillery pieces and attempted to use them against the Cascadian 7th Company, but failed and they were later captured by the 1st Squad of the Second Armored Division. By November 27th, the Legion troops chose to call up their 2,000 strong reserves and armor, but were soon engaged in an armored combat with the Cascadian troops who launched a counter-attack to prevent the reinforcements from coming in. By the time of the engagement, over 284 Legionnaires were killed, 204 wounded, and 68 were captured. Armored Engagements During the afternoon on November 27th, the Legion brought in their tanks to combat the Cascadian Armored Forces. The Cascadians, despite possessing upgraded and modernized antiquated tanks such as M4 Shermans, Churchills, and Matildas, possesed far superior tanks to the Legion, which possessed primitave makeshift tanks made from trucks and large cars with cannons attatched to them. During the armored engagement, only two Cascadian tanks were destroyed while eight Legion tanks were destroyed. The Cascadian tanks managed to maintain armored superiority and the Legion tanks were being knocked out one by one. Small groups of soldiers nicknamed "Tank Catchers" and "Tank Hunters" were sent to capture Legion tanks that were capable of serving in the Cascadian Army, mainly the few Sherman tanks in their arsenal. All were captured and the remaining were destroyed. Eight Cascadian tanks were damaged, but remained active and were easily repaired. By the end of the day, the Legion's tanks were eliminated, their artillery captured, and the Legion reserves were forced to retreat leaving their allies stuck in the occupied parts of Kelowna, which was being retaken one by one. Legion Holdouts With the elimination of the Legion's armored forces, the remaining Legionnaires were stuck in southern Kelowna being stuck in their occupied territories that were soon cut off from the rest of the Legion forces in other territories under their control in Southern Cascadia. The Cascadians had rebuilt their damaged tanks and eliminated any of the Legion reserves from trying to make it to Kelowna while Cascadian Cavalry harassed and captured any Legionnaire that attempted to sneak out and escape. On the early morning of November 28th, the Legion forces began a retreat and it would result in the "Kelowna Bloodbath" where the Legion troops storming the Cascadian troops were cut down one by one attempting to escape with only a few making it out and the rest being killed, wounded, or captured. By noon, Kelowna was retaken and the battle ended in a tactical victory for Cascadia as now, they could launch offensives to retake surrounding regions and areas under Legion occupation. Aftermath Kelowna itself suffered light damage as a whole during the whole battle as the Cascadian defenders managed to hold the line and their light bombers causes mimimal damage to the whole city. The southern areas suffered the most damage however with many buildings and streets being destroyed or damaged in artillery and bombing runs and much of the south was left in ruins. Around one fifth of the city was in ruin, but Kelowna as a whole survived and the Cascadians would begin reconstruction. Future offensives were carried out from Kelowna including the Kelowna-Penticton Offensive and the Battle of Cranbrook which both ended in Legion defeat. After the first phase of the Cascadian Campaign was concluded, the New California Republic sent the Northern Division of the NCR Supply Corps to help rebuild the city and aid the Cascadian and NCR Expeditionary Forces in further offensives against the Legion. Category:Battles Category:Events